Sports
Hockey

Bulls add Brace to bolster attack

The Belleville Bulls have added some offensive punch to their goal-hungry lineup, but they'll have to wait almost two weeks for the pay-off.

Bulls GM-coach George Burnett announced Thursday that the club has acquired overage forward Cameron Brace from the Owen Sound Attack in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2017 OHL draft and Plymouth's fourth-round pick in the 2014 cattle call.

A native of Markham, Brace has played in 223 career OHL contests — all with Owen Sound. The speedy 5-foot-10, 175-pound forward has amassed 79 goals, 81 assists and a plus-42 rating in that span. Brace is also coming off a career year, scoring 35 times and adding 39 assists in 66 games last season, to be named an OHL Third Team All-Star.

"His numbers speak for themselves," said Burnett. "Cameron has played in the Memorial Cup, is a former OHL champion and brings a wealth of experience to our club. He'll provide a boost to our offense moving forward."

Brace has played in 13 games this season, with 4-6-10 scoring totals, but is currently serving an eight-game suspension and will be eligible to join the Belleville lineup on Nov. 16 against the London Knights.

When Brace is reinstated, Bulls will have their full complement of three OAs in the lineup, including defenceman Jake Worrad and forward Scott Simmonds.

With 41 goals, following a 3-0 home-ice loss to the Mississauga Steelheads Wednesday night at Yardmen Arena, Bulls rank 19th in the OHL.

Bulls return to regular-season action Saturday when they host the North Bay Battalion. Game time at Yardmen Arena is 7:05 p.m.

FAST FACTS:

Name: Cameron Brace.

Age: 20.

Position: Centre.

OHL career: All previous four seasons with Owen Sound, including career-highs of 35 goals, 39 assists and 74 points last season.

Need to know: Along with Belleville native Andrew Shaw, Brace was a member of the Attack when they won Owen Sound's first-ever OHL title in 2011. As a rookie, he had 2-7-9 scoring totals in 19 playoff games.